


House of Feathers

by Mutant_Toad



Series: Mutant Feathers [2]
Category: X-Men Evolution
Genre: F/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-05
Updated: 2014-07-05
Packaged: 2018-02-07 15:31:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1904256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mutant_Toad/pseuds/Mutant_Toad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten chapter preview for the next major story arc of my X-Men series. First story is 'Freaks of a Feather', which is not finished yet. </p>
<p>This will not be updated again till 'Freaks of a Feather' is finished. </p>
<p>***The continuation of avian mutant Lili Kline's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She remembered watching it happen on the television when she was six, “Mama, what’s going on?”

“Lili, be quiet!” she heard her father snap back, “Damn freaks are taking over…” he growled and she turned her attention back to the screen. She watched as people ran through the streets behind a news reporter. There were sounds of guns going off and people screaming. It was like a horror movie, but it was real.

“Henry, please don’t go,” she heard her mother talking behind her.

“I told you before, Laura, I didn’t want to raise a freak. Now they’re all taking over. I ain’t staying here with her anymore!” 

Lili managed to ignore her parents. They fought like that a lot and she had grown used to it by this point. She was more focused on the television screen right now. She saw mutants like herself fighting against humans. For a long time, she watched shows about mutants and humans trying to work together, but apparently that had failed. Now it was time to fight. Her young mind didn’t fully understand it, but she knew that somehow it was important.

“Henry, we’ll get rid of her. I promise,” again, this wasn’t something she hadn’t heard before.

“Like hell you will. You wouldn’t even give her back to her real mother.”

“They were gonna kill her, Henry. I couldn’t leave her to that. That woman was a monster. We can find someone to adopt her.”

There was no response. Just the sound of a door slamming shut and her mother crying. Lili wondered what it would have been like if mutants hadn’t come out to the public before she was born. Would her father have felt differently about her if he hadn’t known there were others out there like her? If she was more special and less of a burden? Too late to think about that now.

“Mama, who is that?” she asked, pointing at the screen.

She heard her mother sniffling a little as she came into the room, “He calls himself Magneto. Now turn that TV off and go to your room.”

“But, Mama…” she started.

“I don’t want to hear it today, Lili Ann Kline! Go to your room!”

The dreaded middle name made her flinch and she got up quick. Her thin hands fumbled with the remote as she switched the set off and darted towards the stairs. She stumbled over her own feet as she climbed the stairs to the attic room that was her bedroom.

It was small, but she liked it. It was cozy and it always felt warm. She made her way over to the bed and climbed across it to look out the window. She saw her father in the driveway, throwing a bag into the trunk. She opened the window and stuck her head out, “Daddy!” she waved frantically down at him and ignored the disgusted look he shot up at her, “I love you!” 

He shook his head as he climbed into the car. Lili was sure he would be home in a few hours like he always was. It wasn’t the first time he’d stormed out like that. Lili just expected her father to be home for dinner like he always was.

He wasn’t the only one leaving though. There were a surprising amount of cars going down the street in front of their little house. Lili figured it had something to do with all the fighting she’d seen on the tv set, but again, her young mind didn’t really understand what was going on.

It wasn’t till a few days later that she realized her father wasn’t coming home. Nor was that fight over. It went on for months. Everyday, there were more reports on the tv that mutants were winning the fight against humans. Her mother seemed to dread turning the tv on by the end of it. There was even a day when she made the comment that she was glad to be the mother of a mutant. It meant that they wouldn’t come after her. Lili didn’t understand.

So much changed so quickly. She’d begged many times to go outside and play, but her mother and father said she couldn’t. But now, things were different. In just a year, her mother let her go out into the backyard and play. There were no other children to play with, but at least she was outside.

It was the first time in her life that she got to run around outside and that was all that mattered. She got to feel the grass on her feet and the wind ruffling her feathers. It was nice. She’d lay out on her stomach for hours at a time, just sleeping in the grass. The war going on in the world didn’t matter to her. She was only six now and the rest of the world was not nearly as important as that wind fluffing up the feathers on her wings.

***

“Mom, I just don’t understand why I have to go. I like being home schooled.”

“I know, Sweetie, but you need to be around your kind,” her mother fussed as she continued to pack her daughter’s clothing into various bags, “It’s a good school. All mutants, right in the heart of the mutant nation. You’ll like it.”

“I don’t like other kids,” she whined as she flopped face down on her bed. 

Her mother rolled her eyes. Even as a mutant, her daughter was a normal teenager, “How do you know you won’t like the other kids? You’ve never been around other kids.”

“Then how do you know I’ll like it?” she snipped back.

Her mother reached over and swatted her backside lightly, “Because I’m your mother. Now get up and get your coat on. The bus is going to be here soon. All of your paperwork is in your bag. You’re going to take the bus to the train station and the train is going to take you to the boat in New York. Understand?”

“Yes, Mother,” she huffed and rolled her eyes as she slipped the specially made coat on that allowed her wings to poke through the back.

“You have your cell phone?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Don’t take that tone with me…” she snipped before moving to hug her daughter, “It’s going to be okay. I promise. You need to be with other people like you. Genosha is a beautiful place. You’re going to make lots of friends and have a better life there than you ever could here.”

Lili wrapped her arms around her mother and her wings moved to do the same, “I just don’t want to go. What are you going to do without me?”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. You’re more important than me right now. Mutants are the future and you need to take advantage of that while you’re still young. I should have sent you last year, but…” her mother pulled back and stroked her face a little. It was sweet. 

“I’ll be good,” she leaned in and kissed her mother’s cheek as the sound of a bus honking filled the room, “That’s my ride. I’ll call you as soon as I get on the train and when I get on the boat…”

“And when you get there!” her mother shouted out as she picked up her bag and headed down the stairs from the attic room.

“Yes, Mother!” she shouted back.

Lili was nervous. It had been a big deal as a child just to go out in her yard. Now, ten years later, her mother wanted her to go to a whole new country. She understood why, but she was nervous about it. What if she didn’t fit in? What if her mom got hurt? How would she get home? What if, despite what her mother thought, she couldn’t make any friends? She knew a lot of mutants were sent to Genosha years ago, but she hadn’t. What if they didn’t want more new mutants there? What if they thought her wings were silly? 

Lili tried to shake these thoughts as she stared out the window of the bus. It was uncomfortable to sit in the booth like seats. Her wings didn’t want to fit. Thankfully, that discomfort seemed to help keep her mind off the idea of being an outcast on Genosha.

The train ride wasn’t much better. The seats were obviously not made for mutants like her. No one else around her seemed to look like mutants. Out of all the mutants she’d seen on the television over the years, so few looked any different from normal humans, often called Sapiens. There was some commotion towards the back of the train, but she ignored it for the most part. Mostly, it was just a bunch of people running up from the back complaining about someone who smelled weird. Lili wasn’t about to investigate that.

For the most part, she’d just felt a little nervous. It wasn’t till she saw the boat that she realized that this was really happening. There were other people boarding it and she knew they all had to be mutants, but none of them looked like mutants. She felt her chest tighten as she just stood there staring. Her lungs felt tight and it was hard to breath. Would her mother be upset if she turned around and went home? It wasn’t like this had cost their family anything. Any mutant child under the age of eighteen got free passage to Genosha thanks to Lord Magnus. They also got schooling for free. It was part of the effort to ensure a good future for their kind.

No. Her mother would be terribly upset if she came home now. Happy to see her, but unhappy with throwing away such an opportunity. Lili had to do this. Her mother had given up a lot for her since her father left. She’d worked and homeschooled her. Now she was making sure her daughter had the best possible chance at a future. It wasn’t enough for her to just be a mutant, she had to be in the right place and know the right people. Going to Genosha would help with that.

Just like the first time she went outside, this was the next step in her life.


	2. Chapter 2

The boat trip to Genosha had been long and boring. Lili kept to herself and stayed in her cabin most of the time. Occasionally, she would go up to the deck, but she felt shy. The whole ship was filled with mutants, but she still felt out of place. Many of the others were children with their non-mutant parents.

It gave her something to think about. The children were younger than her, but a few were close to her age. Their parents were with them. Her mother wasn’t coming with her. These others were leaving their lives behind to be with their children in Genosha. Lili was being left to do it on her own. She told herself that it was better this way. Lili had to take care of herself. She had to grow and get stronger. That’s what the ads for Genosha said on tv all the time. That mutants needed to be with each other. Grow stronger together.

Lili actually found herself quite taken with Magneto. He was strong, handsome, powerful, and he cared. Yes, he wanted mutant superiority, because he did believe them to be the strongest of the species, but he also cared for non-mutants. After all, he had three children and one of them was a non-mutant. Her mother said that it was just talk for the camera, but Lili believed he really cared for his non-mutant daughter. Not to mention that his son, Pietro, was dreamy.

She spent most of the long boat trip there reading. Her mother had bought her an e-reader a few months ago and she’d spent a lot of time loading it up with all sorts of books just for this trip. She read classic books, modern books, science books, music books, art books, and even language books. Her mother would kill her if she let all those years of homeschooling lapse. 

Every now and then, she would go up to the deck and stretch her wings out. Just to feel the wind flowing through them. Like herself, most of the others kept to themselves. Just because mutants were becoming the ruling class in the world didn’t mean everyone was used to it yet. It was going to be a hard road for all of them.

The sight of Genosha made her forget all that though. It was beautiful. Lili leaned over the railing a bit as she stared at the buildings. The main city was like a jewel. She could see the house of Magneto sitting atop the tallest hill. It was practically glowing. 

“Wow…” she muttered softly. The temptation to spread her wings and see if she could fly her way the rest of the distance was high, however, reason told her that she’d just end up crashing in the water. Currently, they were weak and she’d never been able to use them. Genosha was going to help change that.

The next few days were chaotic. The boat she was on was not the only one coming in. The docks were filled with mutants and non-mutants. Hundreds of people trying to filter their way into the city. Some were like her. One that already had their paperwork and already had acceptance into the city. Others were just people who had paid for the boat ticket in the hopes that they could be accepted in. Genosha would have gladly accepted everyone, but the island wasn’t large enough. Those that couldn’t gain entrance would be stuck finding a way back home till next year.

She was clinging to her bag and papers in the line of people when she felt an arm slide around her shoulders, “Hey, Babe, sorry I took so long.”

Her eyes widened as she turned to see a mutant boy standing next to her, “I think you have the wrong person…” she said softly.

He was about an inch or two shorter than herself. His hair was a very dirty blond and his eyes were yellow. His skin was a pond green color. He smelled a little too. Like soured milk. He leaned over and whispered to her, “Oh come on. They’re gonna boot me to the back of the line. I’ve been here for days.”

“Maybe if you had your paperwork before hand, then you wouldn’t need to wait for days. Leave me alone,” she shrugged his arm off her shoulders, “And get away from me.”

“Back of the line, kid. Leave the girl alone,” the man behind them snapped.

“Whatever,” he rolled his yellow eyes before crouching to the ground and hopping off. She actually found that a little cute.

“Keep yourself safe, kid. Alright?” the man behind her piped up again.

“Huh?” she didn’t quite understand.

The man smiled and shook his head, “I’ve been here for days. That kid ain’t been here for days. He’s been going around trying to pick up girls like you. Ones that are alone. So watch yourself. I’m sure he’s harmless, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be dangerous.”

“Oh…” she looked down at the ground for a moment, “Thank you. Uh, my name is Lili,” she held a hand out to him and he shook it with a smile.

“Japheth,” he was much taller than her. Nearly seven foot, if she had to guess. His skin was bright blue and he had a mohawk of white hair. The grip of his hand was very strong, “So you have your paperwork?”

She nodded, “My mom has been working on it for a year. Sent my test scores to the main Genosha school and they accepted me.”

“That’s fantastic. I’m happy for you,” he sounded genuine about it.

“Thank you. Have you really been here for days?” she hated to hear that. He seemed nice.

“Yes, but for good reason. Most of the mutants who end up waiting are like me. We come from less fortunate places.”

Lili felt her stomach tighten a little, “I...I’m...uh…” what was she supposed to say? Lili wasn’t good with things like this. Other than her mother and doctor, she didn’t have much practice in social graces.

“It’s alright. I did not mean for it to sound like you were fortunate or anything like that. Just that we all have to get here a different way.”

She smiled, “I am fortunate though. My mother took care of me,” she didn’t know what kind of life he had come from, but she knew just having a mother made her better off than some, “So what happens to people who don’t have their paperwork? Do they just make you leave?”

“No. We can keep coming through the lines till the week is over with, then we have to leave. Not every person with paperwork ends up in, so there are always spots open. We spend every day in these lines in the hopes that we make it through. Then we go home at the end of the week.”

“Wait...so paperwork doesn’t mean we can get in?” she was starting to get worried. 

“Yours does. Don’t worry,” he smiled, “You’re here for school. They don’t turn that away,” he pointed over her shoulder, “Your turn.”

“Oh,” she looked back and saw a woman flagging her down from a doorway, “Thank you. Good luck to you, Japheth.”

“Perhaps I’ll see you on the other side, Pragtige Duif.”

“Pragtige Duif? What does that mean?”

“Beautiful dove.”

Her cheeks flushed and she bit her lower lip as she started towards the door. She stopped and looked back at him, “Thank you. Duif. I like that.”

He waved a little before she followed the woman through the door. They walked in silence for a few moments before heading into a room, “I’m Lili,” she said with a smile.

“Don’t care. Paperwork,” she held out a hand as she slipped behind the desk and Lili sat in the chair in front of it.

The winged girl fumbled about for a moment before handing over the stack of papers, “It’s all there.”

“Right. Okay. You’re sixteen. Your school scores were on the higher end of the scale,” Lili nodded lightly, “Your schooling will be paid for out of a budget we’re given each year. You’ll also be provided shared housing and a food plan. That will cover your basic needs. If your mutation requires special clothing and you are unable to purchase it on your own, the school will evaluate the need as the situation arises,” though Lili had plenty of clothing with her and her mother had taught her to sew to take care of alterations herself, “If you need money for anything else, there are plenty of options for students around the city and school. Is that all understood?”

“Of course.”

“You’re alone, correct?” to which she nodded, “Okay. If your family wants to visit, they will have options. You can leave the island for holidays, but you have to pay for it yourself. If you have a family emergency, then you can appeal to the school board for the cost. If they wish to come to the island to visit you, it must be requested a month in advance and the cost situation remains the same. Pleasure is on them. Emergency can be petitioned for with the school. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Very good. Here is a temporary ID and the school will arrange for you to get the official one in a few days. Please go down the hall and take the last door on the left. There will be people waiting outside to take you where you need to go. Any questions?”

Lili took the paper ID and looked at it for a moment, “The man, the one that was behind me in the line. Is he going to be let in? Japheth was his name.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t discuss that. Any other questions?” Lili shook her head, “Good. Like I said, last door on the left down the hall,” the teenage mutant nodded her head and climbed to her feet. She grabbed her bag up and headed for the door, “Miss. Kline,” she turned back to the woman, “Be careful. It’s hard for people on their own.”

“T-thank you.”


	3. Chapter 3

The first few days were nothing but chaos. Every mutant that was heading for the school were shuffled onto various vehicles that shuttled them off to the student housing. They were basically dorm houses. There were beautiful courtyards with trees and ponds. What Lili liked the best was the large balconies some of the rooms seemed to have. She even saw another mutant with wings, though not like her own, dive off one of them and take off into the sky. 

It took several hours to get them all sorted out. When it was all said and done, she was happy to find out she was in one of the rooms with the balconies. She was sure it had to do with her wings. It seemed like the students were given rooms that suited them as good as possible. 

Her roommate was a girl that didn’t look like a mutant. She was pretty and bubbly, “Hi, I’m Kitty Pryde. I’m a phaser.”

“Lili Kline,” she smiled and shook the other girl’s hand, “Phaser? What does that mean?”

“Basically, I can walk through walls,” the brunette smiled back, “So, is this your first year?”

Lili nodded, “Yeah. You?”

“No. I’ve been on Genosha since I was twelve. My parents brought me here when my mutant surfaced.”

From what Lili had learned, not all mutants were born the way she was. Most were born perfectly normal and didn’t know they were mutants till they were teenagers. Lili learned from books and shows that she was part of a handful of mutants that were born with physical mutations, “Mom started looking into Genosha last year, but she wanted to wait a little longer.”

“So she’s not here with you?” the other girl tossed her bag on one of the bed, “You want the bed by the window?”

“No, she’s not and yeah, the window would be great,” she walked over and started setting her things out on the bed, “If your parents are here with you, why are you in the housing?”

“My parents aren’t mutants. I spend the summer and holidays with them, but I like to spend the school year around others like me.”

Lili nodded, “That makes sense. I wish my mom could have come…” it still put random thoughts in her head as to why the woman hadn’t come with, “I’ll see her for Christmas though,” she smiled. They hadn’t worked that out yet, but Lili was holding out hope for it.

“That’s nice. Any brothers or sisters?” but Lili shook her head, “What about your dad?” Lili shook her head again, “Oh...I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she smiled as she looked over at the balcony door, “Dad left when I was six. He didn’t like mutants. He wasn’t my real dad though...at least I don’t think so. Don’t think my mom is my real mom,” she shrugged, “It’s not a big deal. She took care of me. I love her.”

Kitty smile softly, “If you ever want to talk about it, I’ll listen.”

“Maybe…” she shrugged a little before walking over to the balcony door, “Do you mind if I open this?” 

“Not at all. It’s nice outside. Listen, I’m going down to cafeteria, you want anything? My treat.”

Lili shook her head, “Thank you though,” she smiled and waved a little as Kitty headed out. She went to the door and opened it wide, propping it open with her shoes as she headed outside. Kitty was right. It was beautiful out. There were dozens of mutants roaming around the courtyard outside. It was like being outside in her yard again, except there were other kids this time. It wasn’t just her and the wind. 

“Hey, so you’re Kitty’s roommate this year?” she heard the voice and looked around, “Over here,” she looked to her left and saw a dark haired guy poking his head out of the window. His hair was shoulder length and, from what she could see, he was wearing a torn up black shirt and a brownish vest, and she saw a glove on the hand that was holding onto the edge of the window, “Hey,” he was cute.

“H-hi. Yeah, I’m her roommate.”

“I’m Lance.”

“Lili.”

“Cool wings. Usually only see one set. You got three.”

Lili fluttered her wings a little, “Yeah. The middle came out when I was eleven and the bottom came out when I was fourteen,” they were progressively smaller, with the bottom being the smallest, “Are you a friend of Kitty?”

“Kind of. Wanna be her boyfriend, but she keeps dumping me,” he smiled, “Flying all you can do?”

She was tempted to say that she couldn’t even do that, but she didn’t, “Yeah. Though my doctor says I have the metabolism mutation too. At least for a human. It would be completely normal if I was a crow. I have a very high metabolism. That’s why I look like skeletor.”

“Cool.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, “What can you do?”

“Basically, I make earthquakes.”

“Why does everyone keep saying ‘basically’. Isn’t what you do what you do?” she frowned a little as he laughed, “What?”

“You really are new. Yeah, sure, some mutants get their powers and that’s it; but most of us keep changing. Some of us get new powers and our powers get stronger and change.”

“Wow…” she was starting to realize how little she knew about her own kind.

“Bunch of us are going out tonight. Wanna come?”

Lili bit her lip a little and shook her head, “Sorry, I don’t have any money. I think I should stay here.”

Lance laughed a little again and she frowned again, “You don’t need money. We’re just gonna go down to the lake and hang out. It’s good for new people. Hang out with some of us that have been here longer.”

“I don’t know…Maybe.”

“Think about it. Kitty will be there. It’ll be fun.”

Lili nodded, “I’ll think about it.”

“See ya later,” he disappeared back into the window and she smiled a little.

Her mother had been right. This was going to be a good place for her. There was no reason for it not to be. She had a nice roommate and she was already invited to hang out with other people. For the first time since she got on the boat, she didn’t feel nervous. She felt good about it.

Door still open, she walked back over to the bed and pushed her bags off of it before flopping down. It was much nicer than her bed back home. She hugged one of the fluffy pillows tight as she buried herself into it. She had a habit of nesting when she was at home and she felt that urge right now.

Lili squirmed around in the pillows, sheets, and blankets till they were in a nest shape on the mattress. She couldn’t help it. It was a urge she got when she was extremely upset or extremely happy. It made her feel comfortable.

She curled up and folded her wings around herself as she started to nod off. It had taken a long time to get here and the last few days were stressful. Now all she wanted to do was sleep. How anyone could think of going out and hanging around the lake after all this was beyond her.

Kitty didn’t think so though. It was dark out when Lili heard the room door opening and she popped her head up from her little nest, “Oh, wow,” Kitty commented on the nest, “That’s different.”

“It doesn’t bother you, does it?” she asked as she started straightening out the blankets. Her mother always hated when she nested. Said it was a mess.

“No. No. No. I think it’s cool. Looks like a bird nest.”

“Yeah. I do it sometimes. It’s comforting.”

Kitty walked over and looked over the bedding nest, “It’s really cool. If I didn’t know these were sheets, I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“The school won’t get upset, do you think?”

“Oh please, if this were the strangest thing a student did to a room, I think they would be happy,” Lili smiled and curled back up in her nest, “Lance said he invited you down to the lake. Gonna come? I’m heading down in a few minutes.”

“It’ll be fun, but no pressure.”

“Are there going to be a lot of people there?” she didn’t feel comfortable diving into a large group setting just yet.

“Not with us. Kids usually go out the first few nights before school starts. Mostly just going to be Lance’s friends and a few of mine. Lance’s are a little annoying, but that’s most guys. You’ve heard of Pietro Maximoff, right?” Lili nodded, “He’ll be there.”

That perked her interest, “Really? He goes here?”

“Yeah. His dad had the school built, so all his kids go here. Well, except Wanda,” the non-mutant of the Maximoff family, “He’s pretty cocky and arrogant, but that’s a lot of guys.”

“He’s really gonna be there? He’s cute,” she blushed.

“He is cute. Not my type though. I can barely stand Lance sometimes,” she giggled, “Come on. It’ll be fun. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

It sounded simple, “Okay. I guess I could come for a little bit.”

“Great. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Ready?” she sat back up and looked herself over.

“Oh, uh, wasn’t sure if you wanted to change your clothes or anything. Did you hang out with a lot of kids back home?”

Lili shook her head, “No other mutants in my town, at least none that we knew about. Mom homeschooled me. Not a lot of kids in my neighborhood. Should I change my clothes?” she wasn’t dressed up, but she felt comfortable. Just jeans and a t-shirt that had been altered to fit her wings through the back.

“I think you look fine.”

“I’ve never really cared what I look like. Mom said it’s silly to care about what we look like,” which she both agreed and disagreed with. Obviously, she wanted to be happy with how her body was naturally, but when it came to things like first impressions and professional stuff, she felt that it was best to put her best foot forward.

“That’s good and you do look fine. After all, it’s just a bunch of kids like us. Trust me, they probably aren’t going to be changing either,” she smiled.

Lili nodded and climbed out of her nest, “Then I’m ready.”

“Shoes?”

Lili looked over at the shoes propping the balcony door open, “I prefer to be barefoot anyway.”

Kitty smirked and nodded her head a bit, “Let’s go then.”

***

There were more people than she was expecting, but not enough to completely scare her off. There was Kitty and Lance, who had started off holding hands and smiling, but fighting almost an hour later by a tree. The two of them introduced her to the others before their private fight started. Lili was happy that there were more mutants like herself and not just ‘pretty’ ones like Kitty and Lance.

There was Kitty’s friend Tabby. The girl was a year younger than them and loud as a firecracker. Tabby was a blond bombshell of a girl. Loud, hyper, and outgoing. Apparently, she could create these little bombs of all sizes and power.

Then her friend Kurt. He was like her. He’d been born a mutant. Covered in blue fur, a tail, three fingers on each hand, yellowed eyes, pointed elf ears, and even the shape of his feet were different. He was very athletic and very kind. He was also a teleporter, which Lili found to be a much cooler method of transportation than flying.

Then Lance’s friends. The first person she noticed was Pietro. He was just as handsome as he was on tv. She’d always thought his hair as white like hers, but instead it seemed more silver. It was slicked back. His face was very pointed and sharp. He seemed to have no trouble speaking his mind and didn’t seem to care what anyone else thought. He was also fast. Super fast. 

One of the others was a tall, big guy named Fred. The kid wasn’t just big, he was super huge. He was at least as tall as that Japheth guy she’d met, but he was just as wide. She was more than sure that he could kill her easily. Apparently his weight was part of his mutation. 

The last was one she recognized and glared at most of the night. It was the boy who had tried, pathetically, to flirt with her at the docks. His name was Mortimer, but Lance said he just went by Toad. He didn’t seem to recognize her at all. His nickname told her all she needed to know about his mutation.

It was actually pretty relaxing. The lake looked nice and she could hear other groups coming from different directions. Tabby was currently tossing small bombs into the water and they would count how long it took for it to pop compared to what Tabby said it would take. She was right almost one-hundred percent of the time. It showed how much control she had.

Tabby, Kurt, and Fred were playing with the little bombs. Pietro was trying to keep Kitty from sticking Lance into a tree. That left Lili sitting on the edge of the lake with her feet in the water, quite a bit away from the small explosions. Her feet kicked a bit of the water and she just smiled. She’d never played in water like this before. 

“Drink?” the voice came from behind her and she turned a bit to see Toad standing there holding two plastic cups.

“No thanks,” she rolled her eyes and looked back out at the water.

He came up next to her and sat down, holding one of the cups out to her, “You’ve been givin’ me glares all night. What’s your damn problem with me?”

“My problem? Well, there’s the fact that you hit on me a few days ago and don’t even remember me. I’d say that’s a good problem to have with someone.”

He looked shocked, “I did?”

“Yes. You did. Unless you have an evil twin, Mortimer.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, “Hey, the name is Toad. Don’t call me that, Bird-Brain.”

“If we’re going to start name calling, I can come up with much worse. Trust me.”

He rolled his eyes, “Just take the damn drink. I’m tryin’ ta be nice.”

Lili looked at the cup again, “What is it?”

“You think I’m gonna slip you somethin’?”

“...No.”

“Then take the drink. It’s just coke.”

Lili reached over and took it from him, “Thanks.”

“No problem and, uh, sorry for hittin’ on ya. Teenage boy, you know,” he smiled, “There aren’t a lot of girls like you around. Most female mutants are like those two,” he pointed to Tabby and Kitty, “Not that anythin’ is wrong with that. Nice to look at and all, but it’s nice to see girls like you. I think girls like you are prettier.”

“Really?” she felt her cheeks warm up, “How do I know that you’re not just saying that because you think it’ll make me like you more?”

“Actually, that’s exactly what I’m doin’. I’m a guy. I’ll say anythin’ to get a girl to like me. But I’m honest ‘bout it, right?” he smiled, “And I do remember you. You were standin’ by that big guy. The blue one. I just saw no reason to bring it up.”

“So you remember. So what. Doesn’t change anything.”

“Sure it does,” he smiled, “I do think you’re cute.”

Lili sighed, “I think I’m going to go back to my room.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m here for school. Not to get hit on by creeps.”

Toad didn’t seem offended by that, “Can I walk you back to your room?”

“Sweet as that is, I’m sure I can handle getting back on my own.”

“Oh, come on, I’m goin’ that way anyway.”

Lili smiled and laughed a little, “And how do you know what way I’m going?”

“Cause I’m Lance’s roommate.”

She realized she was fighting a losing battle. It was easier to just let him do it. Especially if he really was Lance’s roommate, “Okay. Whatever, but stand down wind. You smell a little.”

“Soap allergy. Deal with it,” he snipped as they both climbed to their feet and started back towards the dorm rooms. 

They were silent most of the way. He was hunched over a bit with his hands shoved into his pockets. She could tell walking wasn’t the way he prefer to get around. He probably preferred to hop. Walking wasn’t the most comfortable for her either. It made her back hurt. Lili figured that was because she was meant to fly more than walk.

She wondered how long he’d been here. It couldn’t have been his first year, he seemed to well adjusted to it here. Was his whole family here like Kitty’s was? She even wondered what the extent of his mutation was.

“Thank you,” she finally said once they reached her room. Though she perked an eyebrow as he moved closer to her and put a hand on the wall behind her, “What?”

“Nothin’,” he said with a smile as he started to lean in closer to her. She realized what he was trying to do and turned her head away, “What’s wrong?”

“You don’t even know my last name.”

“Since when does kissin’ need last names?” he asked with a smirk as he tilted his head to try and catch her lips again, only to have her turn away again.

Lili felt her cheeks warm up, “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know I think you’re cute,” he smirked again.

“I’ve never even kissed a guy and you want my first kiss to be with a guy who doesn’t even know where I’m from. A guy I just met a few hours ago.”

He reached up and brushed her cheek with his fingers a bit, pushing some of her hair back, “Technically, we met a few days ago. Bigger time frame,” he smiled and tried to lean in again, but she turned her head the other way once more, “Fine. You don’t wanna kiss me, that’s fine.”

“It’s not that I don’t _want_ to. I’m curious about it,” she did want to know what it felt like, “Maybe once we know each other a little better. I’m going from never knowing anyone but my mother and doctor to being surrounded by hundreds of people like me. That’s a lot to take in. It would be foolish of me to jump into something else so new so quickly.”

“You said that it’s not like you don’t want to. So that means you want to. How is that going to change in a few days or weeks?”

“Easy. I’ll know you better. My feelings might change.”

“Why wait to see if it changes? Why not take what you want now and have no regrets later? Zero to sixty can be fun,” he teased a little, but she shook her head, “Alright. I get it. Trust me, you ain’t the first girl to turn me down. I’m used to it.”

“Can we hang out again after classes start?”

“Why not before then?”

“I have a lot to do. My mom did a lot of work to get me here. I don’t want to screw up. I need to focus.”

“You have a lot more dedication than I do, but alright. Just so you know, if I find a girl before then though, I ain’t holdin’ back.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” she smiled a little, “Good night, Mortimer,” she said as he finally pulled away and she started into the room.

“It’s Toad!” he snapped and shook his head as he walked to the next door, “But I guess you can call me Mortimer if you really want.”


	4. Chapter 4

Lili giggled softly as he slipped his fingers around her waist, just under the hem of her shirt, tickling the soft skin, “Mortimer, stop it. We both have this test tomorrow. We need to study,” he elbowed him and he dramatically groaned in pain as he scooted away from her on the bed, or rather in her little nest of bedding, “These questions are ridiculous. I hate math.”

“Me too. Math is borin’, let’s make out instead,” he ran his fingers along one of her arms till she swung it at him, “This stuff is useless. If a car is drivin’ sixty miles an hour and I drop an apple out the window and that wind force is an actual thing, how many human souls can Carlos buy with a cupcake. It’s useless.”

She giggled again, “We’re not making out. Now come on, we have to study. Okay. Use the following information to answer the fix questions. Jack’s father gave him $2500 to spend. He spent 20% on books, 15% on clothes, and 30% on sports items. With that information, how much did he spend on books? How much did he spend on clothes? How much did he spend on sports items? How much did he spend in total? And how much does he have left?”

He sighed and fell back on the bed, “How the hell should I know?”

“Come on, we went over this stuff in class yesterday. You need to focus. If you don’t pass this test, then you’re going to fail the class. I don’t want you to fail.”

“Failin’ isn’t really a good enough incentive. I know. Let’s go hang out by the pond in the back of the buildin’,” it was his favorite spot. It was quiet and surrounded by trees. No one really bothered it. They went there almost every day. 

Mortimer and Lili hadn’t really been dating, but they had been seeing each other every day for several months. Lili spent most of the time studying or trying to convince him to study. He told her every day that if he met another girl that they weren’t going to hang out. She told him that was fine. He spent a lot of the time trying to convince her not to study and to make out with him instead. They’d got fairly close, but Lili still felt like they didn’t know anything about each other. 

“What would be good enough incentive for you then?” she found it was best to negotiate with him. He seemed to respond better when he felt like he was getting something out of it.

He rose his head up and smiled, “Make out with me.”

“I’m not making out with you,” she rolled her eyes. He always asked for that first.

“Fine…One kiss for every answer I get right.”

Lili sighed, “We’ve not kissed yet and you want our first kisses to be under negotiation?”

“Gotta get it some time,” he smiled, but rolled his eyes when she narrowed her own at him, “How about for every answer I get right, you tell me one of these magical things I need to know to get a kiss outta you. How does that sound?”

She thought for a minute before nodding, “Deal. So, $2500 and he spent 20% on books. How much did he spend on books?”

Mortimer groaned and put his hands on his head. He butted his palms into his head in frustration, “I don’t know. I hate this shit. Why would any spend that kind of money on books?”

“I would.”

“You’re an idiot though,” he snapped. He was easily angered she had noticed. Whenever it came to things that showed off his shortcomings, he would fly off the handle. Never violently, but he got verbal.

“Don’t get like that with me,” she reached back and smacked him in the leg, “Come on, Mortimer, you can figure it out. What would be 10% of 2500?”

“I don’t know…” he groaned.

She leaned over and brushed some of the hair from his face, “Yes you do. Just think about it.”

“…250?” he asked.

She smiled brightly, “See, I knew you could do it. Now what would 20% be?”

“No, you first. I answered, now you tell me something.”

Lili could have complained that she had only promised for the first five questions, but she didn’t want to start a fight right now about technicalities, “My father hated mutants. My mother used to promise that she’d find someone to take me, but he left us any way.”

He sat up and looked at her, “Seriously? Your mom told him that she’d get rid of you and he left anyway?”

“She’d been saying that for years and never did. She did care about me. At least I think she did,” Lili shrugged.

“What do you mean?”

She shook her head, “What did he spend on books? How much of the 2500 is 20% that he spent?”

He licked his lips a little. She’d seen his tongue a few times and it made her curious. From what he said, it was twenty-five feet long. She thought she’d be grossed out by it, but she wasn’t. Actually, she found it a bit interesting. Even Kitty seemed put off when he used it to eat, but she found it kind of cool.

“Uh…twenty is double ten, so I’m gonna say 500?”

She smiled and nodded, “Good job. Now, do you want to know about my mom or something else?”

“Your mom. What did you mean that you think she cared for you?”

Lili shrugged again a little, “I don’t think she was my real mom. Dad used to say things about how she wouldn’t give me back to my real mom. She used to say how my real mom was a monster. She stayed when my dad left, so I know she cared about me in some way…but when I came here, she didn’t even want to talk about coming to visit and she hasn’t answered any of my calls or emails. I think she was happy that she could send me away. It means she can have some kind of a normal life.”

“Who do you think your real mom was? Do you think she was a mutant?”

Lili shook her head this time, “He spent 15% on clothes, how much is that of the 2500?”

“Ten is 250. Twenty is 500. What’s halfway between those two?”

“You’re the one who is supposed to figure that out,” she teased.

She could practically see the gears turning in his head. He even lifted a hand up and it looked like he was counting a little, “Three...uh…” he kept looking at her face in hope to see the answer, “Four...no…” he bit his lower lip, “385?”

Lili bit her lip this time, “Nope.”

“Do over. I get another chance,” but she shook her head, “Come on.”

“You still have three more. The answer was 375.”

“Oh come on! I was close. Close has to count, right?”

“Nope. Next one. 30% on clothing.”

He figured it out quick this time, “Ten doubled is twenty. So fifteen doubled is thirty. 750!”

“Yes,” she smiled, “So, do you really want me to talk about something that you know I don’t know the answer to or something else?”

“Something else. Just about you, not family.”

Lili thought for a minute. What would she want the guy she gave her first kiss to know about her? It was surprisingly difficult to nail down, “Sometimes, I hate looking at myself in the mirror. I even had my mom get rid of all the mirrors in the house.”

“And you think you’re the only mutant that feels that way?”

“Of course not,” she shook her head a little, “I try to be okay with the way I look, but it was hard where I grew up. There weren’t any other mutants.”

“I grew up around mutants and I feel the same way,” he admitted, which surprised Lili a little bit. He was always so full of himself, “Just so you know, I think you’re beautiful.”

Her cheeks warmed up, “Thanks. You know, I never got called that before I came here. Even here, I think you’re the only one saying it.”

Mortimer smiled and reached over to brush her hair behind her ear, “I mean it. You’re different,” there were plenty of mutant girls around, but she could easily tell that she was the only one that hung out with him. He had friends, but he was cocky and short tempered. There was also his soap allergy.

“You’d say that to any girl that let you sit in her bed.”

“Maybe, but this isn’t a bed, this is a nest. Your nest. Birds don’t let just anybody in their nests,” he smirked and leaned in to try to kiss her.

Lili pulled away from him and looked back down at their math books, “So how much did Jack spend in total and how much did he have left?”

“Who cares,” he said before moving towards her and slipping a hand around the back of her neck. He locked eyes with her and smiled, “I wanna kiss you.”

“I want to kiss you too,” which was true. She did want to kiss him. She knew that weeks ago. The only reason she hadn’t let him kiss her was because she kept telling herself that she wasn’t ready to kiss someone yet. That she needed to know him longer or that he needed to know about her.

“Then let’s just do it,” he smiled again and tried to lean in, but she tilted her head down, “What?”

“What did Jack spend total and how much does he have left?”

“He spent 1625 and he has 875 left to spend on booze and shit,” he said with a rather snappy tone.

Lili was surprised again. He rattled it off so easily this time. Part of her wondered if Mortimer was really smarter than he showed to other people. She’d been sure he was going to huff and puff about it and complain that he needed to know the previous answers again. Or even run off in anger like he had a tendency to do, “That’s right.”

“Good. So what else do I need to know to be able to get a kiss?”

“Actually, I have a question for you instead.”

“Not part of the deal. I already answered all the damn math questions,” he sounded frustrated.

“Just this...Have you ever kissed a girl before?”

He didn’t respond right away. That told her the answer that she needed, but he spoke up eventually, “Yeah. Of course. Lots of times.”

She smiled, “That’s what I figured. Cute guy like you,” she moved closer to him in the little sheet nest and kissed his cheek softly, “You gonna kiss me now?”

“Yeah,” he smiled and tilted his head to touch his lips to hers.

It was soft at first. Just brushing their lips together nervously. Neither of them seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Her nose bumped into his and she laughed softly. She could feel the heat coming off his face, he was embarrassed not knowing what to do. They both moved forward to quick and she felt their teeth. They both blushed at that. 

Eventually, they got it right. Their lips locked together and they sat there still for a minute. It felt nice. It was only a short kiss, but that seemed alright for them. Neither of them spoke, instead just looking down at their laps. There was a lingering taste on her lips from him. It was kind of sour.

“That was nice,” he finally said something.

Lili nodded, “Yeah. I liked it.”

He got a sly smile on his face, “Wanna do it again?”

Her cheeks felt hotter, “We have more math problems to get through.”

He slipped an arm around her waist, tickling his fingertips along her side, “For every one I get right, I want a kiss.”

“Deal.”


	5. Chapter 5

Lili was stretched out on her stomach on the bed, her wings flattened out, and he was straddling her hips. He bent over to kiss at her back and neck, “Mortimer,” she moaned his name softly as he kissed into her neck. She cooed lightly as his fingers stroked up the center of her back. He knew what to do to get her squirming. He knew how sensitive the skin around her wings was, “That feels good,” she moaned out as he kissed down the center of her back this time.

“Let’s have sex,” he muttered into her ear before kissing it.

They’d been officially dating since their first kiss. It was now the end of the school year. She’d managed to survive her first year and even had a boyfriend. The only real hiccup in how good the year had been was when Christmas came around and she still couldn’t get a hold of her mother. Not only were there no responses to the emails, the phone number said it had been disconnected. Her mother had truly abandoned her. It was only being with him that helped her get through it.

“We talked about that, I’m not ready.”

“I know, but I can’t help but ask. I really want you,” he slid his hands over her wings and smirked as she shivered.

Lili smiled into her pillow, “I know, but continuing to ask isn’t going to change my mind,” though it had come close. 

“If I can’t ask for sex, can I ask for other things?” he covered her neck in kisses as he asked.

“Of course you can, doesn’t mean I will say yes.”

“I know.”

“So what do you want to do?” Lili squirmed as he unfastened the straps of her shirt that went between her wings. 

“I wanna do what we did the other night. I liked it,” she pushed up a bit from the bed as he tugged her shirt free and tossed it aside, “Did you like it?”

“Yeah,” she blushed, “But it was messy and Kitty is going to be back soon.”

“It’s the last night in the dorms for the kids not staying here for the summer,” there were a large number that had families to go back to, but there were just as many that didn’t, “She’s gonna be spendin’ time with Lance.”

“Maybe, but why don’t we wait till tomorrow when we know she won’t be showing up at random? It was embarrassing last time. Lance still snickers when he sees me. I’m sure he told Kitty,” she buried her face in her pillow as she thought about it.

They’d been kissing in his bed a little less than a week ago. It was shortly after they finished all their end of the year exams. Lili had passed everything easily and he’d managed to get by. It had started a lot like it was now. He got her all hot and squirming by kissing and stroking her back and neck. 

Mortimer asked her to turn over once he got her shirt off the same way he did now, but she complained that laying on her back hurt too much. He said he’d lay on the bed so long as she would straddle his hips. She agreed, after all, it wasn’t the first time they had made out like that. Thought it was the first time she’d done it shirtless. Mortimer had seen her without a top once or twice before, but it had been dark out and the light in the room was off. This was different. It was daylight and the curtain was open to let the light in. He could see her. He could see that her body wasn’t very feminine. 

He didn’t seem to care though. Either because he really thought she was beautiful or because he was just happy that a girl was willing to do it for him. Lili told herself it was the later. Part of her was still waiting for something bad to happen, something worse than her mother abandoning her, which she was surprisingly okay with. She was sure he was going to break up with her at any moment. Somehow, thinking that made it feel easier to go through with it.

Truth was that he seemed to enjoy running his hands up over her chest and shoulders. He didn’t complain about being able to feel her ribs or how small her breasts were. He slipped a hand into her hair and pressed the back of her head till she leaned over and kissed him. 

The kissing became feverish quickly as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. It had been a little freaky the first time they added tongues into their kisses. It even made her sick. A rather embarrassing trip to the school doctors had the slime on his tongue being examined. They found out that the slime wasn’t just gross, it was actually toxic and possessed hallucinogenic qualities. The nurse had recommended that they not kiss at all anymore, but that proved to be a difficult order to follow. Instead, they merely found out how long it took before she would get sick. They also realized that her metabolism helped. For the most part, so long as they didn’t go more than three minutes a day with his tongue in her mouth, she would just be a little nauseous.

The more he used his tongue, the more the slime appeared and dripped. It wasn’t the first time they had done this. Tabby had, very bluntly, told her that most mutants were kinky and liked using their mutations for sex. Lili had never thought about sex before coming here. No, that wasn’t true. She had thought about it a little, but never deeply. Being with Mortimer was a process. He enjoyed the zero to sixty and he was apparently one of the mutants that enjoyed what Tabby had told her about.

This was just the first time they had done it when Lili could fully see it. It made her face bright red as he slid his tongue free from her mouth and started dragging it over her shoulders. It was no different than him petting and playing with her wings to get her squirming; his just happened to be more messy. He liked using his tongue to trace along her chest and back. It excited him. The only difference this time was that he asked to put his tongue back in her mouth and have her suck on it. 

She’d agreed to do it and that’s what Lance walked into. She was topless, straddling her boyfriend, his round tongue in her mouth, and covered in slime. Mortimer got angry as Lance apologized between laughs. Lili darted into the bathroom and locked herself in it for nearly an hour. 

“Come on, it was fun. I liked how it felt,” his tongue was more sensitive than a non-mutant or even her own. It didn’t surprise her that he enjoyed it when they did that. He probably viewed it the same way he did another part of his body.

She bit her lip a bit and buried her head into her pillow again, “I don’t want to be embarrassed again…”

“What’s to be embarrassed about? We had fun.”

“You’re the only one I want seeing me like that.”

“And I liked seein’ you like that. It’s the first time you let me,” they usually only fooled around like that at night, “It was hot,” he leaned down and ran his tongue up between her wings and she shivered, “You’re beautiful.”

“You’d say anything to get my pants off,” she teased.

“Of course I would. I’m a teenage guy. It’d be a lot easier if you wore skirts,” he teased back.

Lili chuckled and smiled, “Let’s make a deal. Tonight, we go out with everyone else and just have fun. Then tomorrow, we have the whole day to ourselves without anyone else around. We can do whatever we want then and no one will bother us.”

“Whatever we want?” she heard the hopeful tone in his voice.

“Just about whatever we want,” she heard the small sigh, but didn’t comment on it.

“Okay. We can do that,” he agreed.

“Good, now get off my back and give me my shirt.”


	6. Chapter 6

She perched herself on the banister for the stairs. She wobbled a little, but managed to steady herself. One of the teachers for the school was an avian like herself, though his physical mutations weren’t quite as severe as hers. He said that she was more bird like than most avians, with the exception of a man named Beak, so he said that it would be more natural for her to act like a bird. She already had a nesting habit, ate like a bird which was a lot more than people realized, and it only made sense for her to learn to perch. He said it would help her balance. After all, she wasn’t meant to stand or walk like a normal human. Much like Mortimer with his hopping.

“School starts next week. You ready?” she asked as she curled her toes around the banister and she slowly stood up. She wobbled again for a moment, her arms flailing out a bit, but she caught her balance again.

Mortimer was pushing a broom and rolled his eyes, “Oh yeah. I love math, science, and history. It’s just so fun. I’m not catchin’ you if you fall this time.”

“I’m not going to fall,” she snipped, “There’s more to school than those classes. I know you like art.”

“I like drawin’, I don’t like art. Those other kid are whiny. I wanna smack ‘em,” he’d been doing janitorial work at the school during the summer for money. She did work for the school too, but she did more work outside than inside, “I mean it, you fall, I ain’t catchin’ you,” he snapped again as she wobbled a bit.

Lili smiled, “Yes you will, cause if I fall and crack my skull open, you lose your makeout partner.”

He smiled for a brief moment, “No I won’t. I can get any girl I want.”

“I know you can,” she hopped off the banister and wrapped her arms around him from behind, “What girl can resist that tongue?”

“I know you can’t resist it,” he leaned back against her, “At least you couldn’t last night.”

She giggled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. She was ready to say something, but someone else interrupted them, “Hey, Lili!” she looked up to see Tabby hanging over the railing for the landing of the staircase a floor up from them, “Phone call for you.”

“Really?” she never got phone calls. Tabby and her went to visit Kitty in the city once in a while, but no one ever called her, “Who is it?”

“She says she’s your mom.”

Lili stared blankly. She hadn’t spoken to her mom since she left the house. Her mom had made her swear to call her when she got on the boat and when she got here, but her mother never answered, “Seriously? Did she say her name?”

“Uh...I think it was Amanda.”

Lili frowned. That wasn’t her mother’s name, “What does she want?”

“How should I know? It’s your phone call. Want me to hang up?”

Lili sighed a little and draped herself against her boyfriend’s back, “What do you think I should do?”

He shrugged a little, “It’s up to you. I’ll come with if you want.”

“I’d like that,” though she’d already decided she was going to hang up on whoever this woman was. Pretending to be someone’s mother was a terrible thing to do.

They both headed up the stairs and she picked up the phone once Tabby left the room, “Listen, whoever you are, I know you’re not my mother. My mother abandoned me. So why don’t you piss off. I’m hanging up now.”

“Wait, please don’t hang up. I am your mother.”

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes, “Good bye…”

“No, please, really, I am your mother. My name is Amanda Mueller. I’m your biological mother. Laura Kline contacted me.”

Lili’s eyes widened a little before she slammed the phone down. Mortimer perked an eyebrow, “What’s wrong? Who was it?”

“I don’t know. Just some...some idiot. It’s fine,” she forced a smile, “Hey, lets head out early. Pietro is having that party tonight. Let’s go early.”

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist, “You sure? You never wanna leave early. Remember, you’re the responsible one in the relationship.”

She sighed and leaned into him. Most found the stagnant smell offensive, but she had not only got used to it; she actually found it comforting. He said he used to bathe once a month, but since they got together, he bumped it up to twice a week. A lot of people were thankful for that, “I’m sure. We have to have fun once in a while, right?”

He smiled and went to kiss her, but the phone rang again. Lili grabbed it, “Please. Listen to me. My name is Amanda…” but Lili slammed the phone down.

He perked an eyebrow at her, but she shook her head, “Let’s go. I wanna shower before we go to the party.”

“Anything you want, Babe.”

***

The party was great, which was to be expected. Pietro was the son of Magnus Maximoff. The man who had started and won the Mutant Revolution. While not a king or anything of that nature, he was regarded as the most important man on Genosha and one of the most important mutants in the world.

He was rich, powerful, handsome, and intelligent. That all filtered down to his son, though his son also got a bit of a cocky attitude as well. Pietro was everything his father was, but he did it ten times as fast. The guy couldn’t sit still. It was kind of like a shark. Lili was sure if he sat still that he would die. However, that did make for a good party.

Being from such a high standing family meant that there were some restrictions. No alcohol, for one. However, they were teenagers and there was no avoiding it once the party got going. The guest house of the Maximoff family was overtaken by mutant teenagers. Magnus himself was away on business, so that left the three of his children to run the house. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t expect a party to happen.

Lili giggled as she helped Tabby lay out on one of the guestroom beds. The blond girl was drunk out of her mind, “Get some sleep,” she grabbed a trash can and set it next to the bed, “If you need to throw up, here you go.”

“Thanks…” the girl muttered before burying her head in the pillows.

Her next stop was to a couch. She draped a blanket over her boyfriend and he croaked softly. She smiled. It was cute. He croaked like a frog in his sleep sometimes. He said she cooed. They had slept together, actual sleeping, several times. She’d poke him and he’d nudge her whenever they made their little noises like that. She did it less often than he did.

She climbed onto the couch with him, laying out against him as his arms wrapped around her, “Why aren’t you drunk?” he mumbled out.

“Metabolises too fast,” not that she planned on drinking again for a long time. It didn’t make her feel like it did other people, so she had no reason to drink it. It certainly didn’t taste good. There wasn’t any point in drinking foul tasting stuff if it didn’t do anything for her, “I’m going to stay here with you both. Someone needs to make sure you two don’t drown yourselves. I’ll take care of you.”

“You’re incredible,” he said softly as he pulled her close, “Smart, beautiful, and you take care of me.”

“I’ll take care of you for as long as you let me,” she nuzzled his neck lightly and kissed it.

“I love you, Lili.”

She smiled. He didn’t say her name often. Usually just called her ‘babe’. He’d insisted the first few weeks they knew each other that she call him ‘Toad’, but he always gave her a funny look when she did. Lili realized that he didn’t really want her to call him by his nickname. He secretly liked it that she called him by his real name, “Mortimer, if you can say that in the morning when you’re completely sober…then I’ll give you a present.”

He smiled and croaked a little, “What’ll be?”

Lili kissed his neck again, “It’ll take the fun out of it if I tell you.”

“Yeah…” 

She felt him shift a bit, “What’s wrong?”

“I think I’m gonna be sick…” he groaned and she got up quickly to grab one of the trash cans. 

Lili spent the rest of the night taking care of him. He eventually passed out and she laid out against him to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

“I can’t believe we did this,” she smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him eagerly.

“I know,” he groaned as he slid his hands along her hips, “Lance says we’re idiots,” he started unbuttoning the straps between her wings and kissing harder, “You look so beautiful. Where’d you get this dress?” not that it mattered since it was about to be discarded on the floor.

“Wanda,” she slid her hands down the front of his chest, her fingers working at the buttons on his shirt, “Pietro’s sister,” Lili wanted to tell herself that what they were about to do was going to be different from the other times, but she knew it wasn’t. The only thing different was what they’d done before it, “I’m going to be paying her back for months.”

“That’s fine. You’re beautiful in it,” he pulled the dress off her shoulders and moved his hands to his own clothing as she started pushing the dress down her waist. He pulled the jacket free and tossed it aside as they continued to kiss and move back in the room towards the bed, “But I couldn’t wait to get it off you.”

“Mission accomplished,” she smiled as she stepped free of the dress and playfully pushed him back on the bed as he started kicking his pants off, “I love you, Mortimer.”

“I love you too, Lili,” he groaned as he pulled her hips against his own, “I can’t believe you agreed to marry me.”

“I can’t believe you asked. I thought you were happy with the way things were,” she smiled and lifted her hips up from his enough to push her underwear down. Normally, she had no reason to wear underwear, but she did whenever she wore a dress or skirt. It seemed like inviting bad luck not to.

He pulled her hips back down against his, “I was,” they’d had this conversation several times since he proposed. It had all just seemed out of the blue when it happened. They had just been sitting at the table in their apartment eating breakfast. Nothing special had happened the day before and there was nothing special planned for the current day. 

“Oh god…” her eyes shut and she bit her lip as their bodies pieced together, “Make love to me,” she cooed softly.

He popped the question between sips of coffee, like it was nothing. Lili hadn’t taken him seriously at first. At least not till she realized he was staring at her and waiting for an answer. She was shocked and even asked if he was being serious. When he said yes, she responded likewise. Then they went back to their coffee. Part of her was expecting this to be some kind of joke, but the next day he came home with a ring.

“Lili…” he groaned her name softly as he moved his hips up against hers. 

They had been dating for nearly ten years, had an apartment together, shared the same bed every night, and Lili felt there was nothing they didn’t know about each other. They had a good life together. This just made it more definite. It was a logical moving point in their lives.

“Ahh...harder…” she panted softly as she reached down and gripped onto his shoulders.

Kitty said that marrying her ‘high school sweetheart’ was a bad idea. Then again, she was still on and off with Lance. The two could never make it work, but they were unwilling to give up. Tabby had said that marriage in general was a stupid idea. Though she couldn’t keep a boyfriend, or girlfriend, for more than a week at a time. Kurt was happy for her, but wasn’t overly fond of Mortimer. The two of them had an issue with competing with each other. Wanda, the non-mutant child of the Maximoff family, had become a close friend due to the woman’s love birds and Lili being the caretaker for her bird house. She thought marriage was a good idea, she was married herself, and seemed to be the only one of her friends completely happy about it.

“So good…” he groaned as he held onto her hips tighter and thrust his hips faster, “Can I use my tongue?” he asked with a near begging tone in his voice. He knew he had to ask before just doing it because of the mess it would make. 

The whole thing was put together quickly. Mortimer was an applicant for the Red Guard and if accepted, he wouldn’t have time for a wedding. Wanda had insisted on getting the dress made for her after finding out that she’d been considering just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Lili had declined, but they eventually came to an agreement where she would pay Wanda back. 

“Yes,” she panted. As much as she complained about it as if it were a hassle, she did enjoy it. Whether Tabby considered using mutations during sex kinky or not, it seemed unnatural not to use them. After all, they were what they were. Why pretend like a body part didn’t exist? Lili loved him more because of how they interacted with their mutations. Her body built up a tolerance to the chemical effects of the secretions of his body due to her metabolism. There weren’t many mutants who could do that and even less who would want to be intimate with him.

Mortimer and Kurt both found out the same day that they were being accepted into the Red Guard. It was an honor for them and everyone that knew them. Lili was the one that insisted on using the reception for the wedding as a celebration for both of them. Being on the Red Guard was a big deal. They were the highest form of authority for Genosha. Not only did they protect the Maximoff family, but they enforced mutant laws and handled the more questionable situations. 

“God I love you. Almost there...” he groaned before letting his tongue flick out. It wrapped her waist and helped her to move her hips against his. The goo dripped off and onto the bedding below them as well as staining her white stockings. Everytime they did this, it meant buying new sheets. There was no getting the stains out.

“Me too,” she moaned as she felt his tongue snaking around her body and up around her neck. He didn’t squeeze or anything. It was, very much, like one of those weird Japanese animated porns. She was sure most wouldn’t understand the allure in it. She knew Mortimer would never hurt her, not even come close to hurting her. It was just the feel of it on her body that excited her. Possibly because he was the only guy she’d ever been with, but that didn’t bother her.

She tensed a bit, her wings fluttering, as she settled onto his hips. He gripped onto her hips tight as he arched his back, “You’re an incredible woman…” he muttered softly, “I love you, Birdy.”

Smiling, she leaned down and kissed him, “I love you too, Froggy.”

They stayed together like that for a long time before she finally climbed off his hips and laid out on the bed next to him. She folded her arms under her chin and tilted her head to look at him, “Everyone is going to be upset that we skipped the reception.”

“Who cares,” he rolled over and stroked his fingers on her back, “You’re the only one I cared about in there anyway.”

“Don’t lie. You love our friends,” she teased.

“Not as much as I love havin’ sex with you,” he teased back, “Sex wins out over listenin’ to people talkin’ all night.”

Lili giggled softly, “I can’t disagree with that. Though I do hope that someone gave us bed sheets for a present.”

“Sorry,” he smiled.

“It’s okay. You know I don’t mind,” she leaned over and kissed the tip of his nose, “Why don’t we clean up and head back over to the party? I need a drink after that.”

He kissed her nose back, “I thought you didn’t like drinking?”

“I do when I have good reason to drink and if what I’m drinking tastes good. Tabby’s really good at making alcohol taste good,” Lili smiled and nuzzled him lightly while cooing.

“You’re cooing again.”

“You know you like it when I do,” she snickered, “Just like I like it when you croak in the night.”

“You lie. I never croak,” he snipped playfully as he climbed up from the bed and went for his pants.

Lili followed and starting pulling the dress back on after tossing the stockings aside. No point in keeping dirty stockings on, “I’ll record you.”

“Tease,” he smirked, “Babe, you’re really happy we did this, right?”

She nodded as she fastened the straps between her wings, “Of course I am, Mortimer. You know I never do anything if I don’t want to do it.”

“True. Stubborn.”

“Like you’re not? We went a month without washing dishes once because we both felt justified that the other should. We ended up throwing them all out and buying new ones to spite each other,” it had all started over a petty argument that had been resolved when they bought the new dishes.

“Never said I wasn’t,” he smiled and pulled his jacket on, “Come on, let’s go.”

Lili smiled and nodded. She slipped her hand into his as they headed back down the street to the reception hall. She was immediately whisked away by Kitty, Tabby, and Wanda. The three other women seemed to know exactly where the new happy couple had run off to for the past hour and a half. Now they wanted their friend back.

“Toad is such a perv,” Kitty said with a head shake, “Everyone was waiting for you two and he drags you off for sex. That’s just like him.”

Lili laughed, “Actually, it was my idea.”

“Lili! You’re the perv,” Tabby stated with a loud laugh.

Wanda just smiled and shook her head as Lili defended herself, “What? I can’t have sex with my husband? Don’t be such a prude, Kitty,” the brunette pretended to be dramatically offended, but they all went back to having fun.

Lili settled down into an empty chair and Wanda sat next to her, “You really love him, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Mortimer makes me happier than anyone else ever has. He’s taken care of me through a lot and I’ve done the same for him.”

The beautiful daughter of the Maximoff family smiled, “I’m glad to hear that. That’s all I ever want for anyone. To have their hearts desires.”

Lili smiled. Wanda had always been a good person, “Me too,” she reached out and touched her hand to Wanda’s stomach, “Are you excited or scared?”

“Both. It’s going to be twins,” she smiled brightly.


	8. Chapter 8

“Froggy, is that you?” she leaned her head out of the kitchen door and looked out to the living room, “Oh, Kurt, it’s you. Good to see you.”

“Ja, your Froggy is still outside,” the blue mutant teased, “Just so you know, I am going to call him that from now on.”

“I’m sure he’ll love that,” Lili shook her head a little, “Is he alright?”

“Ja, just slow as usual,” Kurt headed into the kitchen and gave her a small hug before heading to the fridge and rummaging through it.

“Hungry? I’m cooking,” she smiled, “Eggs, potatoes, and bacon. Fresh orange juice.”

“Oh,” his tail swished a bit, “That sounds good. Especially after the run last night.”

“How did it go?”

“Fine,” the blue mutant settled into a chair, “Some sapiens were making a mess in the city. Protests.”

Lili shook her head, “Horrible. After everything Magnus does for them. After all you all do for them. All they ever do is complain, protest, and treat us all like we’re the enemies. Especially after all those years that they used to experiment on us and treat us like monsters. We could do worse to them and they know it.”

“I agree,” the blue man smiled, “But not the best breakfast conversation.”

She smiled, “Sorry. Just ruffles my feathers is all.”

“The house looks wonderful. You and Froggy are lucky to have got it.”

“Thank you and please don’t call him that. Want me to start calling you Fuzzy?” she set a pitcher of juice on the table, “It’s a good house though. I really love it.”

“I would like to get a place out here in the hills. It’s so much quieter out here, but she loves the city. How big is the pond out back?”

They had moved in six months ago. A nice cottage like house in the hills with a large pond right in the backyard, “It’s at least ten feet deep. Mortimer measured it a few months ago. It’s about a hundred and sixty feet wide.”

Kurt whistled, “That’s amazing. It’s like a fantasy out here.”

The house itself was small and old. It was difficult for Lili to move around with her wings, but she didn’t seem to care. She loved it no matter how cramped it was. The whole place was built very old fashion like. Stone walls and wooden boards. The roof had to be replaced with more modern material, but Lili had spent a lot of time fixing it all up to keep everything as original as possible. 

“Maybe she’ll fall in love with it during the party tonight,” she smiled.

The kitchen and dining room were one small room. The sitting room had a stone fireplace. Their bedroom was on the other side of the sitting room. A pull down staircase was above the front door that lead to a small, finished attic room. Another door in the kitchen lead to another staircase that led up a tower like structure built onto the cottage that held a small room at the top.

“Maybe. Oh, thank you,” he took the plate of food she offered him, “Looks wonderful.”

The whole house was surrounded with flowers and trees. A narrow path led around the back that went to the pond. Lili kept the windows open any time it wasn’t storming. She loved the smell of the trees and the water, “Well, if Mortimer comes in, let him know I’ll be right back. I have to go check on the babies.”

Kurt laughed a little, “I still can’t believe you two are popping out kids already.”

“You can tease me about it later,” she gave him a light slap over the head as she walked by and towards the bedroom. 

“Where you goin’?” she felt his arm grab her around the waist and tug her close as she walked past the front door.

She giggled a little and turned around to kiss him, “Food is in the kitchen. I need to change and start getting the backyard ready. Kurt is going to eat all the bacon if you don’t hurry.”

He kissed her softly before releasing her and letting her continue on to the bedroom. She straightened out the bedding, which was currently in a nesting shape, before climbing over the bed and pushing open the window that faced the pond. There was a small breeze and she inhaled deeply. It was surprisingly perfect.

Lili was happy with their lives. More than happy. She felt like their lives were perfect. They were in love, married, had a house, and now they had children on the way. Mortimer had a job he enjoyed and she still did the monthly upkeep on Wanda Maximoff’s bird houses. 

She gazed at the pond for several minutes before slipping into jeans and one of her t-shirts. Due to her claw like nails, she preferred not wearing shoes and only owned two pairs for when she had to go into the city. She brushed her hair back into a ponytail before heading back into the kitchen.

She kissed her husband on the cheek before doing the same to Kurt, “My favorite boys,” she teased. Their friendship had been a struggling one, filled with competition. However, during their time together on the Red Guard, they finally got over that and became good friends, “Mortimer…”

“Froggy,” Kurt snickered and Lili stepped on his tail lightly as Mortimer narrowed his eyes.

“Mortimer, are James and Raven coming tonight?”

He shook his head, “No. You know them. They keep to themselves.”

“Oh, I was hoping they would come.”

“Babe, we have like fifty people coming,” he reached over and stroked one of her wings, “Missing two people isn’t going to hurt anything.”

Kurt snickered a little, “Is this what I have to look forward to?”

Lili stuck her tongue out at the blue mutant as Mortimer narrowed his eyes again, “Not entirely,” she finally responded.

“Yeah, Amanda doesn’t risk popping your eardrums in a fight or sticking feathers up your nose while you sleep. I should have found myself a non-mutant. You picked right,” Mortimer teased as she threw and orange peel at him, “You know I’m kidding.”

“Don’t throw out the scraps. The fish like the potatoes,” she commented before grabbing a large box from one of the shelves, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

She kissed him on the other cheek before heading to the front door. She carried the box outside with her as she followed the small path around the house. She looked up through the trees and couldn’t see a single cloud in the sky. It was a perfect day for a party.

The pond surface was like glass. At least it was till a bird flew down and touched it a bit, causing ripples. She smiled as she walked over to a small patch of the pond just off the path. It was walled off from the rest of the pond by a stone dam built into the water. It let the water flow and out of the enclosed space, but it kept the fish and other pond animals out. There was a clear hood over it that went into the ground with small holes to let airflow through. Mortimer had set it all up two months ago. 

“Good morning,” she spoke, but there wasn’t anyone around. She lifted the clear hood up and ran her fingers over the surface of the water inside. It was warm, “I’ll get you all some ice in a bit. The doctor says you need to be kept cool till next month.”

She reached her hand into the water and scooped up some of the contents. They were little round balls, about a quarter in size each. In the sun, they looked greenish in color, but in the center was a little ball. She brought the seven or eight up to her lips and kissed one of them. The little ball inside squirmed, “Look at you. Getting all big. Mommy can’t wait to see you,” she kissed the egg again before setting her hand back into the water and releasing the handful, “Mommy is excited to see all of you,” she reached in again and stroked her fingers over the large mound of eggs that were under the surface.

Her hands went to the box next, “Doctor says you need this everyday,” she opened it and started shaking it over the water. Powder came out and floated atop the water for a minute before sinking, “It’s going to make you all get strong,” she reached into the water again and carefully stirred the eggs up before shaking more of the powder into the water and stirring the eggs again, “Everyone is coming to see you tonight.”

The doctor told her it was good to talk to the eggs. Mortimer had told her not to get too attached, but it was hard not to. After all, the doctor had also told them that there was a good chance that only one or two or even possibly none would survive. Lili wanted so badly for all of them to make it. She had gone through and counted all the fertilized ones. There were seventy-two that had the dark ball inside of them. She’d seen each of them move and squirm. 

Realistically, having that many children was far too much a burden for anyone. They had no real hope of being able to handle it. It didn’t matter how much she wanted to be able to, it just wasn’t reality. The doctor told her that the best they could hope for was ten and that they should be pray for two or three at the most, “Your Uncle Kurt is inside. Aunt Kitty and Aunt Tabby will be here in a few hours. So will Uncle Lance and Uncle Pietro. So many people are coming just to see you all.”

Even the doctor told her not to get too close to all of them, but she’d already started naming each of them. Not knowing the gender, she gave each egg two names, “Susan and Sebastian,” she lifted one up and then another, “Janet and James,” she did it again, “Colleen and Carl,” Lili knew better than to do it, but it made her feel good to give them all names. 

There was a noise behind her and the breeze brought the smell of sulfur by her nose, “Are those the babies?”

She smiled, “Yeah. All seventy-two of them,” she held one of the eggs out and carefully put it in Kurt’s fuzzy, three fingered hand.

“Goodness, that many,” he gazed down at the egg and watched the ball inside it squirm, “Are all of them going to hatch?”

Lili shrugged, “I hope so, but the doctor doubts it. He said that it’s just not possible. Even if it was, it would kill us to have that many. Both emotionally and financially,” she took the egg back from him and put it back in the water, “It just feels weird to think that they all won’t hatch,” it made her feel sad too. The thought of even one of the eggs not making it was upsetting. She knew she was going to be sad when the time actually came for them to hatch, but it hurt too much to imagine it right now.

“You two are lucky,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“I feel lucky, Kurt. It all feels like a dream sometimes. I love him so much and them too,” she shook a little more of the powder over the water before closing the clear hood to keep out the other animals, “The doctor said he would have preferred them to be indoors, but it seems more natural out here.”

“Where would you have put them inside anyway? The tub?” he smiled, “Do you realize you’ve been out here for two hours?”

“Really?” she looked around, “Shoot. I need to start getting everything set up.”

“Mortimer has already started,” he helped her to her feet and even took the box of powder for her.

“You two are so sweet. I want you two to go get some rest. The bed upstairs is set up,” she smiled.

“Ja, thank you. I think I’ll take you up on that. Try not to overwork yourself.”

“I won’t.”

***

“Lili, you’re so lucky. You don’t have to go through childbirth,” Wanda said with a smile, “Twins was a nightmare.”

She chuckled as the two of them sat by the egg space and Lili ran her fingers over the small creatures, “Maybe, but it wasn’t very pleasant. I have to say that it was the strangest feeling I’ve ever had in my life. Probably the strangest thing I’ve ever done too.”

“I’d rather pop out a few eggs than go through nine months again,” the woman laughed.

Lili’s eyes glanced over at the two boys running around her yard that belonged to Wanda, “Any idea if they are mutants or not?” Lili knew there was little chance that any of her children wouldn’t be mutants, but the chance was still there even with their strange birth. Wanda had been born from two mutant parents and her twin brother was a mutant, however she wasn’t. 

“They are. Telepaths. Both of them already at the age of two. It’s amazing how these things work. Do you worry that any of yours will or won’t be mutants?”

Lili nodded a little, “I don’t know how Mortimer would feel about non-mutant children. I know he’d care about them, but do you ever feel that your father favors Pietro over you?” to which Wanda nodded a bit, “I’m also scared of what kind of mutations they will have. The doctor is worried too.”

“What do you mean?”

Lili looked over her shoulder to make sure no one else was too close, “We talked about children when we first got married. I didn’t think I could even have kids, cause I’ve never had, you know, a cycle. We both decided it was for the best not to have any children. Both our mutations are pretty drastic. There’s no telling how the children will come out or if their mutations will even be survivable.”

“I’m sure they will be fine, Lili.”

“Mortimer doesn’t even want to name any of them. He didn’t even really want to have the party. He wants to wait for everything till they are hatched.”

“That’s not completely unreasonable.”

“I know…It’s really the only thing we’ve ever fought about.”

Wanda leaned over and hugged her lightly, “Again, I’m sure they will be fine. So long as they take after you,” she teased.

“We can all hope for that,” the winged woman giggled.


	9. Chapter 9

“Lynna! If you spit on your brother one more time, I’m going to hang you by your tongue from the tree! Rach, your sister wouldn’t spit on you if you didn’t put feathers in her ear! And Abbey, don’t think I don’t see you eating those bugs! Teale, if I catch you playing with those snakes again, I’m going to make you live with them! The four of you are going to get it!” Lili was halfway hanging out of the bedroom window yelling at her four children. 

The three mutants all stopped what they were doing. The two girls dove into the pond and the two boys jumped up into a tree, “Don’t think I don’t know where you are! I mean it!”

She sighed and ducked her head back inside the house, “They are going to be the death of me,” she muttered as she climbed off the bed and started back towards the kitchen. She loved her children, she really did, but they grated on her nerves at times. Lili told herself that it was their job as children to make her want to crawl up the walls. It didn’t help that her two girls could crawl up walls.

It became apparent how many eggs stood a chance of hatching a month before they did. Three of the seventy-two still had the little squirming balls inside of them while the others had either cracked or stopped moving. It was still impossible to tell the genders at that point though. 

The doctor had said that if the children fully developed inside the eggs, then there would be no problem. However, there was no such thing as a normal birth, especially under such abnormal circumstances. Lili and Mortimer had even started taking turns sleeping outside with the eggs since it was too dangerous at that point to move them into the tub or sink. 

Lynna was the first to hatch. There were no doubts on the girl’s mutations. Much like her father, she had webbed fingers and toes. Her skin was greenish like his as well. Tuffs of murky brown hair covered her little head. Her small, but obviously elongated tongue flopped out the side of her mouth. 

She remembered pulling the squirming ball out of the water. She remembered feeling that it was too soon and that the baby was too small. She screamed for Mortimer who called the doctor. They did just as the doctor told them and helped the baby out of what was left of the stretched egg sac and immediately wrapped it in a blanket. When the doctor arrived, he said that she was in good health, but he would prefer to take her to the hospital to have her watched for a few days. 

Over the next week, they had two more hatchings. Rach, came second. He was much more enthusiastic about getting out of the egg than his sister had been. Lili had been at the hospital with Lynna when the doctor brought him back too. Unlike Lynna, he didn’t display any physical mutations. His skin was a little discolored, but that faded after a few days. During an exam, one of the doctors found strange bumps in his back. A scan confirmed that they were wing buds. Unlike Lili, his wings did not sprout before birth.

A day after Rach, the doctor brought in Abbey. Mortimer came with this time since there were no more eggs left that they were aware of hatching. Much like her sister, she took after her father more in mutation. Hers was a bit more severe and she needed constant water ran over her skin to keep it from drying out and cracking. She also seemed to prefer being under water. The doctor said that she might grow out of that, but if not, she would likely have to spend much of her time under water.

It wasn’t till they got back home after nearly two weeks at the hospital that they realized there was a baby crying that wasn’t any of the three they already had in their hands. The noise came while they were trying to get some sleep, after all, three kids were hard to handle. It caught her ears first and she perked up to look out their bedroom window towards the pond. She ignored it at first, but the strange crying, squawking like noise continued. 

Not wanting to wake her husband and being perfectly capable of handling it herself, Lili climbed out the window next to their bed and walked down to the pond. She expected to find a bird caught in some moss or something. Instead she saw something laying on the edge of the pond next to where the eggs had hatched. It was squirming and making the awful sound.

As she got closer to it, she went wide eyed and called out for Mortimer. It was another baby. This one was much smaller than the other three had been. It had webbed fingers and toes, as well as the fleshy nubs of wings poking out of it’s back. The poor thing could make noise, but it seemed to be struggling to breath. Small bumps dotted it’s bone white skin. She grabbed it up in her shirt and ran back inside, where her husband was panicking and the other three babies were crying due to her yelling.

It was the quickest the doctor had ever managed to get from the city out to their little house. He took the baby immediately to the hospital after looking it over. He said that it was probably okay, but there was no telling how long it had been out there. It was amazing that it had even managed to get out of the water on it’s own. Out of all the children, the fourth, who they named Teale, was the only one that seemed to display mutant traits from both of his parents. 

Of the four, the three oldest were developing mutations of their own. It was highly common for second or third generation mutants to take on not only the abilities of their parents, but develop new ones as well. Lynna had superhuman senses. Abbey full undersea/water adaption. Rach was slowly, and unsteadily, developing aerokinesis.

Teale seemed to be the only one that received his parents traits and nothing more. 

She was currently in the kitchen and taking care of various things when she heard the door closing, “Mortimer?” she called out and stuck her head out the kitchen door to see him. He’d been gone for several days on an assignment for the Red Guard. Lili missed him a lot when he was gone. Not just because it was hard wrangling four kids on her own, but she felt as in love with him now as she always had been. 

What stopped her was the way he looked. His eyes were heavy and he looked more tired than usual. There was also the way he was looking at her. Like he was shocked to see her. He just stared at her with this shocked expression, not saying anything, “Are you okay?” she walked over and put her hand on his cheek, “You feel warm. Did James send you home or is the assignment finished?”

He just continued to stare at her as she moved closer to him and shivered a little when she touched him. He reached up and wrapped his cold fingers around hers, “Finished. Yeah,” he muttered softly.

She smiled at him, “Are you okay, Froggy?” she leaned in and kissed his cheek, “You’re acting weird.”

“Just...just tired, I guess,” he kept holding her hand and pressing it to his cheek though, “We’re really married?”

Lili chuckled, “Yeah. For ten years. Did you hit your head or something?” he reached up with his other hand and stroked her cheek and down her shoulder and arm, “You’re starting to freak me out, Mortimer. Maybe you should go lay down,” she started to tug him towards the bedroom, “I’ll keep the kids out.”

“Kids. We have four kids...woah…” 

She found herself feeling more worried at this point. She pulled him through the house and into the bedroom, “I want you to lay down. I’ll get you something to drink,” she helped him into the bed and as she turned to go back to the kitchen, he grabbed her wrist, “What’s wrong?” she was scared for her husband. He’d come back from several assignments a little banged up and a lot banged up, but never delusional. Well, a few times he did, but someone always came with him. He was alone this time. Surely no one else on the team would have let him go like this.

“You’re beautiful.”

Lili felt her cheeks warm up. It wasn’t that her husband didn’t say things like that, but they were both just very blunt people and praise wasn’t something either of them felt necessary in that manner, “Let me get you some water,” she pat his hand a little, but he didn’t let go.

“No, really. You are beautiful. You look so different from when we met.”

Her cheeks felt hotter, “Well, there’s never a way of telling when we will stop mutating or our bodies will stop changing to adapt,” Lili was well aware of how her body had changed. She was hardly a great beauty or voluptuous, but the years had filled out her body a bit more. Her bones were stronger and her metabolism slowed down. She actually had to wear a bra on occasion, which hadn’t started till after the children hatched, “You’ve changed too, you know.”

“I know, but not like you. You got beautiful. Why are you still with me?” there was a scary look of bewilderment in his eyes.

“Mortimer, I love you,” she leaned down and kissed him softly, “You make me happy. Who cares what any of us look like? We have an amazing life together. That’s all that matters to me. You’re sweet to me and you take care of us. We all love you,” he had physically changed over the years. His mutation was more severe than it had been, but he was stronger too. Lili was about the only person that could handle the toxins that his body produced because she subjected herself to them daily.

His eyes glanced out the window as his four children went back to playing after being scolded by their mother minutes before, “I’m a good dad…”

“Yes, you are.”

“Damn…”

“Lay down and rest. I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?” he finally nodded and submitted to her request as he laid back on their bed and let his eyes slide shut. She leaned over him and shut the window so that the four young mutants wouldn’t try to crawl through it before heading back out of the room and closing the door behind her. 

Lili immediately went for the phone and dialed Kurt. The blue mutant didn’t answer. She tried several more times before giving up and trying James. She gave up after three tries to him as well. She proceeded to call everyone on his team, but no one answered.

Next she tried Kitty, who did answer. Her friend still lived in the city, “Hey, have you seen or heard anything from the Guard?..No?...Mortimer is acting a little strange. I think he might have hurt his head...No, I can’t get a hold of any of them. I’m worried…What if the others are hurt and his instinct was just to head home?...I know, James is strong. He wouldn’t let anything happen to them...I’m sure I’m just panicking for no reason. I was just wondering if anything was happening down in the city...No? Okay. I guess he just hit his head or something. Wouldn’t be the first time...I’ll talk to you later.”

Lili hung up the phone and chewed on her lower lip a bit before getting a glass of water for her husband and bringing it back to him. He was sitting on his knees on her side of the bed and looking out the window. The two girls were spitting at the boys, who kept hopping from tree branch to tree branch, “Those are my kids…” he said softly, “I made four kids.”

“Actually, you made seventy-two, but those are the four that developed,” she smiled lightly as she set the glass down on the nightstand and climbed onto the bed with him and laid her head on his shoulder, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. I just, uh, just hit my head. I’ll be fine. I’m feeling better already,” he turned his head a little and smiled at her, “Do you miss me when I’m not here?”

“Of course,” she nuzzled her head into his neck, “If it wasn’t for how exhausting they are, I wouldn’t even sleep.”

“Ten years...christ…” he muttered as he looked back out the window. Lynna had Rach by the hair and was dragging the kicking boy towards the pond. Abbey and Teale were standing on the edge of the water laughing as they watched, “Little monsters,” he smiled a bit.

“They’re good. Just playing,” she smile, but then moved away from him to open the window, “Abbey! I told you not to eat those bugs!”

The four kids scattered again and Mortimer laughed, “I eat bugs.”

“Yes, well, we can’t all be as wonderful as you,” she teased as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. His hands roamed her sides and back, reaching around to play with her wings to make her shiver, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine. Let’s have sex.”

Lili wasn’t completely surprised by his bluntness, “I think you should rest first.”

“I want to be with you, Babe,” he hadn’t called her that in a long time, but she didn’t mind.

She giggled a little and leaned down to kiss him, “After the kids go to sleep,” but he leaned up into her and started kissing at her neck as she spoke. Her wings fluttered a little as he stroked along their bases. Even after being together for so long, she still felt weak in the knees when he did that.

“I want you now,” he muttered softly as he held her close.

Lili squirmed out of his grip and smiled, “After the kids go to bed,” she swatted his hand a little as he reached out for her again as she climbed off the bed, “You get some rest,” she leaned over to kiss him on the forehead, “Once they’re asleep, I can be loud the way you like.”

He smiled and laid back on the bed, “Alright,” she shook her head a little and headed from the room again, making sure to close the door behind her.

She thought he had been resting, but when she went outside to haul the four little mutants inside, she saw him rolling on the ground with them. Apparently he’d hopped out the window to go play with their kids. Lili wasn’t upset. She liked when he played with them. 

She leaned up against the house and watched the two girls show him how high they could jump. It was an obvious diversion from where she was standing. She could easily spot the two, winged boys in the trees that were ready to pounce. She debated warning her husband, but ended up deciding not to. In fact, Rach saw her and went a little wide eyed, but she motioned with her hand for them to continue.

The two boys smiled and dove down from the branches. The crashed into Mortimer, who shouted in surprise as the two girls in front of him jumped up out of the way as he went tumbling into the pond. Lili chuckled. He didn’t come back right away and the four kids leaned over the water to look for him. They all screamed as he popped out and grabbed two of them. Rach and Abbey were dragged into the water and Lili cringed a little. It always took forever to dry her own wings and it took just as long to dry Rach and Teale’s.

Mortimer popped his head out of the water and smiled over at her. He motioned for her to join them, but she shook her head, “Dinner is ready.”

“Come on,” he urged and managed to get the four kids to start pleading too.

“Please, Mama. Please, please, please, please…”

Lili continued to shake her head as her husband climbed out of the water and started towards her, “Mortimer. No,” she tried to sound stern, but he didn’t stop, “Dinner is ready. I’m not getting in that water. It’s freezing.”

“It’s not freezing,” he tried to justify as he reached out for her, but she dodged, “Come on, Babe. It’ll be fun,” he smirked.

“No,” she turned and started back into the house, “Dinner is ready,” she felt a cold, slimy tongue wrap around her ankle and heard small giggles behind her, “Lynna, you better let go,” but she didn’t have a chance to say anything else about it as her husband grabbed her around the waist and she kicked a little, “Don’t you do it.”

“Do what?” he said all innocently.

“I swear, Mortimer Toynbee, if you throw me in that water…”

“What? You’ll bust my ear drums?” he snickered a little before setting her down on the edge of the pond, “I wouldn’t put you in there if you really didn’t want to,” he leaned in and kissed her softly, to which the four kids all made gagging noises, “Go on, inside, all of you. Dinner’s ready.”

Lili smiled and went about herding the four mutants inside. They sat down around the small table to eat and Lili couldn’t help noticing that Mortimer just sat and watched them, not eating anything himself. She knew something was wrong, but he seemed determined not to talk about it. Maybe someone on the Guard had been hurt and he just wanted to keep it quiet for the time being. That would be a good reason for the others not to answer their phones either. 

It was nearly midnight by the time they managed to wrangle the four hyper mutants into their beds and cleaned up. Mortimer grabbed her hand with a smile and led her outside to the pond again, “You better not throw me in. I’ll wake the kids and make you deal with them.”

“I’m not gonna throw you in,” he smiled and wrapped his arms around her, “Do you remember the first time we had sex?”

She smiled and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulders, “Of course...Mortimer, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know, you’ve been acting weird since you got home.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” he tried to joke.

“Really, you have. Asking weird questions and stuff. It’s just not like you. Did something happen?”

“Everything is fine. I promise. Have I ever lied to you?”

Lili sighed and buried her head into his neck, “Not that I’ve caught you for.”

“Then trust me. Now tell me about our first time.”

She didn’t want to. It wasn’t like it had been an issue or bad. She just didn’t like how the conversation was sounding. It was like he was needing confirmation that their lives together had actually happened, “Are you positive you’re okay?”

“Christ, yes. I’m fine. I just want to hear you talk is all. Just tell me about it. Okay?”

She sighed and laid her head back on his shoulder, “Okay…It was after Pietro’s party. You drank way too much that night. I ended up having to take care of you all night. You told me you loved me in between throwing up. I told you to not say it again till you were sober. We were some of the last people to leave the party the next morning and you looked at me and told me you loved me again. I said it back and…” she nuzzled his neck a little, “...we were alone, so I had my way with you in the guest bed.”

Mortimer smirked, “Cause you’re such the pervert.”

“Oh, you know it. Just like it was all my idea on our wedding day to sneak off and go have sex before going to our reception.”

“I liked that,” he muttered as he nuzzled the side of her head.

“I love you, Froggy,” she reached up and clasped either side of his face lightly before leaning up to kiss him. 

“Same to you, Babe,” he muttered before kissing back. She couldn’t help the tight knot in the pit of her stomach. He always called her ‘Birdy’. He hadn’t called her ‘babe’ in years. She knew something was wrong, but she didn’t want to push it. Small lapses in memory, calling her something different, and even the way he moved seemed different, “Wanna go at it out here?” and there was that too. Not since they were teenagers had he talked like that about sex. It was always ‘making love’, but not today.

“Sure, why not,” she smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair.

“Can, uh, can you call me Toad while we do it?”

She perked an eyebrow at him, “What?”

“Toad…you know, my nickname,” he smiled sheepishly at her.

“Why?” just another thing that didn’t make sense to her.

“I don’t know…Just to be different. It’s fun to try stuff like that, right?” he wrapped his arms around her waist and ran his hands over her backside. 

“I guess…” she shrugged a little, “I kind of like the way we usually ‘do it’, but okay,” Lili had never called him Toad. They had been together for over twenty years and she only called him that a handful of times when they first met till she realized that he actually liked her being the only one to call him by his real name, “I’m not sure I’ll remember to do that while we’re in the middle of it though.”

“That’s fine. Anything is fine. Just not Mortimer.”

O-okay…” she sounded more confused than accepting, “Whatever you want, just so long as you promise me that tomorrow you’re going to stay in bed and rest. Alright.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“I love you, Mort...eh...Toad.”


	10. Chapter 10

Things ran fine for the next few days. There weren’t any incidences with the kids and things seemed normal. Mortimer was still acting a little strange, but not near as much as when he’d first come home. The only lingering thing was his insistence that she call him Toad while they were in bed together. Also his libido seemed to go through the roof. 

They weren’t a dead in the bed couple, but Lili was used to things having slowed down in their marriage in that department. It certainly wasn’t like they were teenagers again, but that was what he wanted now. Lili was sure she spent more time on his hips the past few nights than she did actually sleeping. Most nights, he didn’t just want to make love and go to sleep. No. He wanted to go at it for hours. Part of her didn’t mind one bit. It felt incredible to be with him that way. Yet another part of her couldn’t help but wonder if this had something to do with how strange he’d been acting. 

“Oh god, harder, harder…” she panted out as he thrust his hips up against hers. Her hands were gripping the grass on either side of his head as she moved her hips against his, “Mortimer...more...oh god…” she was leaned over him with one of his hands on her hips. 

“Toad, Babe, call me Toad,” he panted out as he helped pull her hips down to meet his.

“S-s-sorry,” she stammered out. She seemed to forget that a lot, but it was hard to break so many years of calling him by his name, “More Toad, more…” she sat back, bouncing on his hips instead of leaning over now.

“Almost there, Babe. Just...Just a little more…” he groaned. He grabbed her hips tight and held them down against his own as he moaned and finished inside her.

She bit her lower lip and shivered as she felt him release. They stayed like that for several long minutes before she finally slipped off him and fixed her nightgown before laying out on her stomach on the cool grass. Sweat covered both their faces and his chest was moving up and down fast as he caught his breath. She smiled and leaned her head over to nuzzle him, “That was amazing.”

“Better than thirty minutes ago?” he smiled.

“Definitely. Can’t moan like that in the bedroom after all,” they spent a lot of their intimate time outside by the pond to avoid any questionable situations with the four kids.

“Wanna go again?”

She laughed and laid her warm face against the cold grass, “I don’t think I can. It’s past midnight, Mortimer. We need to get some sleep tonight.”

He moved over next to her more and stroked his fingers down the center of her back, “I know. I just like being with you.”

“Well, you can be with me all you want tomorrow night. Remember, Lance and Kitty want to have them over tomorrow night, so you’ll have me all to yourself.”

He smirked, “I’m sure Lance is using them as a way to keep Kitty from wanting kids.”

“I don’t doubt that, but she still likes having them over. God, you’re incredible. Do you know that?” she smiled.

“Only because you tell me I am. Do you like our lives together?”

She chuckled, though it still worried her a bit. He kept spouting off these strange questions at random, “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

“You’ve never questioned bein’ with me once? You’ve never hated how stubborn I am or find me gross or anythin’ at all?”

She sighed, “Again with the weird questions. I’m not exactly loving these, but I do love you. You’ve never given me a reason to question you. We’re both stubborn. I can’t hate that in you without hating it in myself. And yes, I do find it a little annoying when I have to buy new sheets when you decide you want to get kinky with your tongue; but I wouldn’t agree to it if I didn’t like it.”

A smile crossed his face as he stroked between her wings, “God I love you…” he leaned over and kissed her forehead, “You sure you don’t wanna go again?”

“I’m sure,” she giggled, “We both need the sleep.”

“I guess you’re right,” he groaned as he climbed to his feet and helped her to hers. The two of them quietly snuck back into the house and slipped in bed for a little sleep. 

It was a peaceful sleep, but the waking wasn’t. Her eyes shot open as she heard her husband shouting and her kids crying. She popped up quickly and ran out of the room to see Mortimer standing in the sitting room and Kurt in the doorway. They were shouting at each other and the four young mutants were standing off to the side of the room crying.

When they saw their mother, they all ran over and clung to her. She stared at the two shouting men in confusion, “What’s going on?!”

The two looked over at her with wide eyes, “Go back to bed, Babe. Take them with,” Mortimer ordered.

“I can’t believe you haven’t told her! She deserves to know!” Kurt snapped, his tail swishing fast behind him.

Lili wrapped her arms around the four kids. He’d never raised his voice to her before, “What do you deserve to know?! Mortimer, what’s going on?!”

“Nothin’! Just go to bed!”

“Stop telling her that, Toad! Tell her the truth!”

“Tell me what?! What the hell is going on?! One of you answer me!”

She’d never seen such anger in her husband’s eyes before, “Dammit! She doesn’t need to know! Look at her! Look at our lives! We’re happy! Just go the fuck away!”

“It’s not right, Toad! It’s not real!”

“Yes it is!” he snapped back, “She loves me! We’re married! We have kids!”

“We all agreed, Toad!” Kurt snapped back.

“Mama…Uncle Kurt is scaring me,” Abbey cried.

“I changed my mind! I don’t want to lose this!”

“Mama…” Teale buried his head against her hip, “Why is Daddy yelling?”

Lili tensed. She didn’t want to leave the room, but she couldn’t let her kids just stand here and watch it, “Come on…” she tugged them back towards the bedroom.

“It’s not real!” she heard Kurt shout. 

None of it made any sense. What wasn’t real? What were they fighting about? What was it that Mortimer was supposed to tell her? Why was Kurt calling him Toad? She wanted to know what was going on in her own house. She wanted her husband to give her answers.

Unfortunately, she wasn't going to get any. Just as she was getting all four of the kids into the bed, she heard a loud popping sound and darted back out to the sitting room. Her husband and Kurt were gone, just a cloud a bluish smoke was left, "Dammit!" she snapped at herself.

Lynna came up behind her and peeked around her mother's body, "Mama, where'd Daddy go?"

"I...I don't know, Lynna. Go get back in bed with your brothers and sister. I want you all to stay there."

"But, Mama..."

"Don't give me that, Lynna. Go. Now," she snapped. Lili never talked to her kids like that. Sure, she 'threatened' them with things like dragging them around by their tongues or ears; but that was just the mother in her. She'd never actually do it. It helped that her kids never did anything that she saw needing true discipline or anger.

She went to the phone and dialed everyone she knew, but no one answered. Not even Kitty. Part of her was considering gather the four kids up and heading to the city, but another part of her told her to stay put. The more logical side of staying put won out. Lili trusted her husband. She couldn't just run off and try to find him. He cared about them and he always did everything he had to take care of them. Her children were upset and it was best to try to calm them down.

Lili felt angry and confused. She didn't like this. Kurt had been so angry with her husband. It didn't make any sense. Things were fine. Why was this happening? 

Choking back tears, she headed back to the bedroom and saw her children huddled up in the bed. If anything ever happened to them, she'd never forgive herself. If there was trouble with the Guard, it was best for her to stay out of it. Her children were what mattered right now.

With a soft sigh, she climbed into the bed with them. As much as it hurt to lay on her back, she did it for them. They huddled up against her and she wrapped her wings around them. None of them questioned her about their father. Lynna probably already told them that she wasn't going to answer. Eventually, she felt all their bodies relax and their eyes slide shut. All except for Teale.

"Mama..." he said very softly, "...are we going to be okay?"

She stroked his muddy brown hair and gave him a weak smile, "Yes. Of course we are. Remember, your mama and daddy would never let anything happen to you," he was the only one that had inherited her bone mutation, which made him as fragile as she had been. Lili was unwilling to admit that she was more protective of him than the others, but physically he was the weakest, "Go to sleep, Teale. It's still early."

"Yes, Mama..." he muttered before burying himself back into her wings.

Lili didn't feel tired, but she did feel a sense of dread as her eyes started to slide shut. 

When morning finally came, she didn’t feel any better. She lied to her children about the shouting match their father had been involved in. Meanwhile, she was constantly trying to call people to no avail. Kitty was supposed to come by at noon, but the girl never showed up. She thought about going back to the city again, but she’d never be able to wrangle the four mutant children on her own to do it. 

No, she was stuck out here with no idea of what was going on with her husband or friends. It was the one disadvantage she found for living up in the hills. There weren’t many people out here. Lili knew should could carry one or two of her children during flight, but not all four of them. That would have been impossible for her. Teale and Rach were good gliders, but they hadn’t mastered full flight yet.

It dark out now and she still hadn’t heard a word from anyone. Her stomach hurt badly. She couldn’t eat anything and all she did was stare out the front window. Just waiting for someone to show up. Part of her was wishing they had gone through with setting up the house for television to at least get a news station. They’d considered it years ago, but never went through with it.

“Mortimer…” she chewed on her lower lip, “…where are you?” she muttered as Teale came up behind her and wrapped his thin arms around her leg, “It’s bed time, Teale.”

“Can I sleep with you tonight, Mama?”

The other three were already asleep. She reached back and pat the side of his head lightly, “Of course you can. Just don’t tell your brother or sisters, okay?”

“Yes, Mama,” he smiled as she reached down and gathered him up in her arms. He was extremely light for his age.

Lili carried him to her bedroom and cuddled up to him as he started to coo. Parents weren’t supposed to pick favorites, but he was the one that wasn’t supposed to survive. He was a fighter, like she was. Only difference was how sweet he was. 

She stroked his soft hair and he croaked a little. The doctor still had his doubts on the quality of life he would have, but mutant medical advancements were much better now than they were forty years ago. Lili knew he would make it. He was going to be stronger than both his mother and father. Lili was sure of it.

The little mutant cooed and croaked against her between his snores. It was kind of sweet and just a little strange. She hummed softly and stroked his hair and wings till her eyes started to feel heavy. Once again, she knew she was about to sleep, but she didn’t feel tired. That tightness in her stomach was back again too. The one that made her feel like everything was falling apart.

A bright light flashed in front of her eyes and she tried to get up to look out the window, but she felt her body felt too heavy. All she could do was shut her eyes tight to keep the light out, but she could still see it through her eyelids. She clung to Teale tightly. Even though she could feel his body in her arms, it felt like he was gone.

Then she woke up. 

Lili sat up in her bed and looked around. Her green eyes scanned the cold, white walls. The fluorescent lighting made the white color burn her eyes. The hard hospital bed hurt her back more than a regular bed. There was a tray of plain, limp, and colorless hospital food next to her bed. She reached up to rub her eyes and groaned as she started to slide from the bed.

Her legs gave out from under her and she grabbed at the bed to pull herself back up. Feathers were everywhere as she struggled to get up. Not just feathers. Blood too. Like the feathers were being ripped out from her wings.

Pain shot through her whole body. She’d never felt anything like it before. It was like every bone in her body was crying out, “Oh god!” she screamed as she felt a hard tug on her back. All of her wings collapsed at once. Hanging limp as the feathers fell off of them, “Somebody help me!”

She fell to the floor in a heap, crawling her way along towards the door, “Somebody! Please!” tears fell from her eyes as she cried out. She could hear running in the hall outside the hospital room door, but none of them were coming to her room. There were other people shouting as well, but none of them for her , “Help me!”

No one came.


End file.
